I am about to buy a BB Q10, all sales offices I contacted offer a branded and unbranded version which is significantly more expensive.

As BB appears to have engineering time to spend on unneccesary hassles such as branding, I am quite curious about the actual phone. Nevertheless, I would like to know what the branding means on the BB Q10.

What I know is:

- Powerup animation (Only appears at powerup, I dont intend to switch the phone on and off the whole day)

- A custom design, which I can easily switch back to the default one.

What I would like to know is:

- Does the branding have effect on the firmware update cycle (such as Nokia, which is still tied to Symbian Belle, first version on Vodafone devices) Does the branded version receive the same update plus a branding junkfile, or does the operator have to confirm the release, possibly yielding to a BB which is seperated from the firmware update stream?

- Does it include enforced third-party software (Operator specific application)? If yes, is it possible to _completely_ remove it?

Please: Answers only from the parties mentioned above and only concerning my question.